


Phantoms

by KingSnow5750



Series: Hollow Knight One Shots [3]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21824506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingSnow5750/pseuds/KingSnow5750
Summary: The City of Tears is beautiful, yet below it lies the lost dreams of every bug who's met their unfortunate end there. Quirrel can see the old city like a double vision, a phantom. Sometimes, he feels like just a phantom too.
Series: Hollow Knight One Shots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557634
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72





	Phantoms

**Author's Note:**

> This originally started as a one-shot started in my free time, but I may do something more with it.

Quirrel settled down on one of his favorite benches. Right in the heart of the City of Tears, the view here was gorgeous and melancholy. The constant drizzling rain and a faint singing that seemed to follow him everywhere here added an emotional ambience to the scenery. This place gave Quirrel a strange mixture of nostalgia and grief. Grief and longing for a place he doesn't even remember, but he can feel the weight of thousands of souls, their hopes and dreams forgotten to all. He felt a bit of responsibility to remembering these lost bugs.

Quirrel pulled out his map book, feeling the urge to sketch out this lovely scene. 'Map book' was a loose term, as Quirrel didn't believe in maps. He simply wanted to catalogue his journey and capture the memories he'd felt there. The book was quite cramped and patchy, with mismatched papers taped or crammed in by other means. The pictures had scribbles and arrows pointing to things of interest. Sometimes they were taped in and unfolded when he ran out of room. He just couldn't bear to continue his findings in another book, so he kept adding to this one.

As Quirrel turned to a clean sheet, he heard the patter of footsteps above the rain. He looked to see his short friend approaching, soaked through from the downpour. "Greetings, friend. Fate is strange to put us together again in the same room, isn't it?" Of course, he didn't expect much of an answer, but Ghost somehow seemed contemplative. They nodded. 

Ghost hopped onto the bench and thumped their strange arm against Quirrel's book. He wondered exactly what their carapace was made of. It seemed transluscent yet incomprehensibly black at once, something invisible stirring and swirling within. "What, do you want to see this? It's just some sketches I do in my free time," Ghost seemed to stare at the book intensely, despite their expression being unchanged.

"Alright, my stoic friend, it's all yours," Quirrel said, trying to placate the stubborn bug. Ghost grabbed the book. Their hand was cold and liquidy, yet left no residue on Quirrel or his book. They felt the pages and poked and prodded every bit of it.

"Do you like drawing too? I must admit, you don't strike me as the type," Quirrel threw out, sensing that Ghost was in a more expressive mood. They didn't nod or shake their head this time. Instead, they simply reached inside of their cloak and pulled out a thick, rolled up sheet of parchment. They shook off a few flecks of dark… something, and handed the roll to Quirrel. What was this? Ghost's own 'map book?'

The paper was rough in his hands. Good quality. A thin leather strip and silver clip held the map together, which Quirrel carefully unhooked and unraveled. The paper unrolled immmediately, almost as if an outward force pushed it. It was much longer than it looked. He pulled the paper towards him, seeing what was written on it.

It was a map, a beautifully intricate one at that! Quirrel could see that this gargantuan map was of Hallownest. He could never have believed the kingdom expanded this far! It clearly had much work into it, with every tiny bit of hallownest charted and labelled. He could even see that Ghost had pinned the map and left a key for it.

"My, my, you are quite the traveler," Quirrel breathed, almost at a loss for words. "You have explored this entire kindgom so quickly? Sometimes I wonder if you're really just a bug,"

Ghost looked up from their reading and gave a thumbs up, before turning back to flip through more pages. Of course, their answer was as cryptid as always.

Quirrel rewrapped the chart after a thorough admiring and sat back to relax. He had planned to leave rather quickly, but it looks like Ghost won't let that happen. Not that Quirrel minded. Now that he was settled down, he could feel his exhaustion. His stomach growled. When was the last time he ate?

If Quirrel had a bag on him, maybe he would've had the foresight to keep food on him. But food was surprisingly plentiful down here, especially in the capital. He got up from the bench. "Are you hungry? I'm getting something from one of these old stores," Quirrel asked. Ghost held up a hand in something resembling another thumbs up. "Alright then," Quirrel replied, unphased by their stoic demeanor at this point.

He rummaged through several nearby houses before finding something edible. Deep in the bowels of an old basement were jars full of preserves, dried meats, and other non-perishables. Thank the stars for doomsday preppers. Thank the stars for his mask to protect him from the obscene amounts of dust he disturbed while moving the old food around.

Quirrel settled on a jar of honey, a can of… hopefully edible soup, and a container of dried jerkey. He would've tried to grab something fresher, but it wouldn't be possible to start a fire here. As he climbed out of the basement, Quirrel was hit with a sense of melancholy. This place… he could almost feel the vibrancy it once held. Why did this city feel so familiar? He felt a connection with it he couldn't describe. If he looked too closely he could see it, the busy capital, the shops, the people. He could feel it like a phantom limb that he'd forget was no longer there. Why did he feel like this? What secrets lie in this kingdom, in his own mind?

He shook his head. Quirrel knew that prying his brain now wouldn't do any good. The gaps in his memory would have to be fixed slowly. He made the walk back to the bench, slowing his trip to enjoy the scenery. He wouldn't want to drop his food, after all! The rain still made a soothing pitter patter outside the windows, almost like an endless song. 

Ghost looked up as they heard Quirrel approach. They frantically slapped the bench, making a wet slapping noise. Quirrel couldn't tell if it was urgent or if they were just excited. "What is it? Something good?" His friend didn't respond, but as Quirrel sat down they scurried into his lap. It seemed they wanted Quirrel to stay awhile. He carefully manuevered his food around this new obstacle.

Ghost grabbed each item as it was set aside, turning it this way and that as they inspected the preserves. First, they stuck their hand straight into the honey. They pulled out the gooey, crystalized mess and stuck it into what Quirrel previously assumed was their eye hole. Quirrel stopped in his task of opening the soup to watch this spectacle. What  _ are  _ they?

Ghost seemed unimpressed by the honey and moved on to the dried jerky. Quirrel was not sure what sort of meat it was, but Ghost gobbled it down without looking twice. They seemed to enjoy meat much more than honey. A loud growl reminded Quirrel of the can he was holding. He peeled it open and swished it around to inspect its contents. It was a strange, sweet sort of stew with chunks of vegetables. Oh well. One couldn't be picky on the road.

Ghost didn't move even after eating. They leaned their head back into Quirrel's torso and stilled. Quirrel slowly placed a hand onto the small bug's head, curiosity getting the better of him. He was surprised that the carapace was smooth, almost like a bone. He almost expected it to have the same unusual texture as their body. Up close, he could feel the tiny chips and cracks their skull had sustained over their journey. 

"Is this your head, or just a mask?" He wondered out loud. He wasn't even sure that Ghost was awake. Surprisingly, the strange creature stirred slightly, and Quirrel could feel them nod. "I can tell that your real body is made of something… entirely different. It's a rather fine mask, but I wonder what lies underneath?" No response. Quirrel had the sudden feeling that he would never know. The secrets of his friend lie deeper than even he has explored. He supposed he was like that, in a way. Some secrets must always be lost, even to those holding the key.

Without even realizing, Quirrel found himself falling asleep to the rain. Even though the chill from the city and his friend had seeped into him, the peaceful downpour far outweighed the less than ideal weather. He dreamed of a bustling, rainy city deep underground; the capital of a great kingdom at its prime.

Quirrel woke up maybe minutes or hours later, he couldn't tell. Ghost was gone, replaced by a small, leatherbound book. He nearly had forgotten about the old thing. It was probably time for him to head out, but he didn't want to miss the chance to sketch this place out. After all, it was one of his favorite places, and it was something he could imagine vividly. He wouldn't ever forget, but if he sketched it later he may accidentally sketch the phantom city he kept seeing. He flipped open the page, grabbed his pencil, and stoppped. The page was already filled.

In the drowned out city, he saw himself sitting on a bench, with a Little Ghost sitting on his lap.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're a fan of Hollow Knight, especially if you're a creator, I'd love if you joined my discord server! We try to be sctive and we have events to showcase our skills.  
> https://discord.gg/Guzpuuu


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